16-letter words containing r, i, p, a
- optical tweezers — a laser device used to study, manipulate, or trap a microscopic object, as a microorganism or cell, with nanometer precision.
- organ-pipe coral — an alcyonarian coral of the genus Tubipora, occurring in tropical waters, and forming a complex colony of brick-red, vertical tubules joined at intervals by transverse plates.
- organoleptically — In an organoleptic manner.
- orographic cloud — any cloud whose existence and form are largely controlled by the disturbed flow of air over and around mountains, as the banner cloud and crest cloud.
- orthographically — In an orthographical manner; using proper spelling, capitalization and grammar.
- orthosympathetic — Of or pertaining to the sympathetic component of the autonomic nervous system.
- outboard profile — an exterior side elevation of a vessel, showing all deck structures, rigging, fittings, etc.
- over-application — the act of putting to a special use or purpose: the application of common sense to a problem.
- over-expectation — the act or the state of expecting: to wait in expectation.
- over-explanation — the act or process of explaining.
- over-speculation — the contemplation or consideration of some subject: to engage in speculation on humanity's ultimate destiny.
- overcapitalizing — Present participle of overcapitalize.
- overcompensating — Present participle of overcompensate.
- overcompensation — a pronounced striving to neutralize and conceal a strong but unacceptable character trait by substituting for it an opposite trait.
- overcomplicating — Present participle of overcomplicate.
- overexploitation — use or utilization, especially for profit: the exploitation of newly discovered oil fields.
- pacific sturgeon — a dark gray sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, inhabiting marine and fresh waters along the northwestern coast of North America, valued as a food and sport fish.
- packing fraction — Physics. a measure of the stability of an atomic nucleus, equal to 10 4 multiplied by the mass defect and divided by the mass number.
- paediatric nurse — a nurse who specializes in the care of children
- paint-by-numbers — formulaic; showing no original thought or creativity
- painted trillium — a North American trillium, Trillium undulatum, having white flowers streaked with pink or purple.
- pair of scissors — two-bladed cutting tool
- pairs tournament — an event in a sport such as tennis or darts open to pairs of competitors
- palmer peninsula — former name of Antarctic Peninsula.
- palomar mountain — mountain in SW Calif., near San Diego: site of an astronomical observatory: 6,140 ft (1,871 m)
- pancreatic juice — a thick, colorless, very alkaline fluid secreted by the pancreas, containing enzymes that break down protein, fat, and starch.
- panoramic camera — a still camera having a movable lens that horizontally scans a view while exposing a long photographic plate or strip of film.
- panoramic screen — a very wide screen, as of a television, etc
- papillary muscle — one of the small bundles of muscles attached to the ventricle walls and to the chordae tendineae that tighten these tendons during ventricular contraction.
- para-nitrophenol — any compound derived from phenol by the replacement of one or more of its ring hydrogen atoms by the nitro group.
- para-phenetidine — a colorless organic liquid, C 8 H 1 1 NO, used chiefly in its para form (para-phenetidine) in the synthesis of phenacetin, dyes, and other compounds.
- parachute rigger — a person who inspects, repairs, and packs or folds parachutes.
- paradigmatically — of or relating to a paradigm.
- parallel parking — parking along curb in line with other vehicles
- parallel sailing — sailing along a parallel of latitude.
- parallelepipedon — a prism with six faces, all parallelograms.
- paraprofessional — a person trained to assist a doctor, lawyer, teacher, or other professional, but not licensed to practice in the profession.
- paratuberculosis — Johne's disease.
- parents' evening — an occasion when the parents of children at a school and their teachers come together (outside normal school hours, in the evening) in order to discuss the progress or work of the children
- parity operation — the mathematical operation of reversing the directions of all three space coordinates. Symbol: P.
- parliament hinge — a butt hinge the knuckle of which protrudes from the door so that the door when fully opened stands away from the wall.
- parochial school — a primary or secondary private school supervised by a religious organization, especially a Roman Catholic day school affiliated with a parish or a holy order.
- parochialization — a parochial character, spirit, or tendency; excessive narrowness of interests or view; provincialism.
- parole violation — an illegal act or offence that breaches the conditions of a prisoner's parole
- partial fraction — one of the fractions into which a given fraction can be resolved, the sum of such simpler fractions being equal to the given fraction: Partial fractions of 5/(x2−x) are 5/(x−1) and −5/x.
- partial function — A function which is not defined for all arguments of its input type. E.g. f(x) = 1/x if x /= 0. The opposite of a total function. In denotational semantics, a partial function f : D -> C may be represented as a total function ft : D' -> lift(C) where D' is a superset of D and ft x = f x if x in D ft x = bottom otherwise where lift(C) = C U bottom. Bottom (LaTeX \perp) denotes "undefined".
- partial ordering — a relation defined on a set, having the properties that each element is in relation to itself, the relation is transitive, and if two elements are in relation to each other, the two elements are equal.
- partial pressure — the pressure that a gas in a mixture of gases would exert if it occupied the same volume as the mixture at the same temperature.
- particle physics — the branch of physics that deals with the properties and behavior of elementary particles.
- parts of lindsey — an area in E England constituting a former administrative division of Lincolnshire